Adele Agbaw

PSY 221-ON
24 May 2015
The assignment for this week was to read chapters eleven to sixteen. Chapters eleven to
thirteen focus on middle childhood, while chapters fourteen to sixteen focus on adolescence.
Chapter eleven, in particular, shows the biosocial development of children from the ages of six to
eleven. At this stage in development, a person executes more actions for themselves, without the
aid of an adult. For example, they brush their own teeth, which can lead to improved oral health.
They are able to engage in higher levels of physical activity without adult supervision.
Cooperation is learned through neighborhood games, as an individual cannot always decide what
games the group will play. Unfortunately, some children play less neighborhood games than
others. They are preoccupied with TV shows and homework, or may live in cities which do not
have many open spaces. In the future, what will be the result of decreased neighborhood
play for these children? Also, will cities continue to be built in ways that prevent
neighborhood play from occurring? Hopefully, lack of neighborhood play will be seen as a
legitimate problem and will be resolved for the future generations. Childhood obesity also needs
to be fixed because it causes health problems such as asthma and high blood pressure. At the
same time, the brains of children at this stage of development continue to grow. The ability of
selective attention allows specific stimuli to have their attention, while others are not taken into
account. Several disorders and disabilities that can affect children in this stage of development,
including bipolar disorder, learning disabilities, attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder, and
autism spectrum disorders. If some children with disabilities begin to receive treatment during
this stage of development, their disabilities will have less of an effect (Berger, 2011, 295-461).
Chapter twelve is about cognitive development during middle childhood. At this point,
children are capable of concrete operational thought or using logic in their daily lives.
Classification requires the use of logic. The child will be able to place items that have similar
distinguishing features, into different categories. For example, they can organize vehicles into
buses, cars, and trucks. Within cars, they may notice that there are SUVs, vans, minivans, and
sedans. Memory is needed for information processing to occur. Sensory memory allows children
to temporarily store a stimulus, working memory involves intentional mental activity, and
children who use their long-term memory can remember items for extended periods of time.
They are now capable of attending elementary school full-time. Countries differ in their hidden
curriculums, or embedded values that affect how children learn in their schools (Berger, 2011,
295-461).
Chapter thirteen concentrates on the psychosocial development of children. As children
grow, they become more independent. One important concept is that of industry versus
inferiority. It means that children naturally enjoy activities in which they are required to practice
their skills and abilities. If they do so, they will view themselves negatively. When they do not
have a positive image of themselves, they view themselves negatively. They also develop

resilience, which allows them to deal with stress or adverse conditions. Resilience explains why
certain children can still be successful adults, despite suffering from child neglect. School-aged
children may encounter three different types of family structures. The nuclear family is headed
by both a mother and a father and the children they have are younger than eighteen. In a single
family, the children are also under eighteen, but live with one parent. Another family structure is
one of the extended family. It is different from the others because children live with relatives of
varying ages. Outside of the family, some children form deep bonds of friendship, while others
bully their peers (Berger, 2011, 295-461).
In chapter fourteen, the biosocial development of adolescents, or people ages eleven to
eighteen, is discussed. A major part of their development is puberty. It is the time when sexual
maturity and physical growth are both increased, resulting in the body of an adult. This is caused
by higher levels of hormones that both the pituitary and adrenal glands release. As their body
changes, adolescents also change how their body images. Regardless of gender, some will be
discontent with their physical appearance. They will observe the enlargement of primary sex
characteristics such as the vagina, penis, and testicles, which are needed for reproduction to
occur. More noticeable are secondary sex characteristics, including breast development and
wider shoulders. These characteristics show sexual maturity (Berger, 2011, 295-461).
Chapter fifteen is about cognitive development. Adolescent egocentrism is where the
person is the primary focus in his or her life. Some adolescents think that a persons perception
of them can be seen through the persons behavior. For example, a frown can mean that a person
feels hatred toward the teenager. Adolescents are capable of both intuitive and analytic thought.
Analytic thought occurs when one uses logic and weighs the risks and benefits of taking a certain
action. Intuitive thought is based on a feeling that a certain action should be taken sometimes due
to events in the past. Both of those thought processes are needed to as the adolescent attends
middle and high school (Berger, 2011, 295-461).
Chapter sixteen concentrates on the psychosocial development of adolescents. At this
stage of development, the person begins to form an identity for his or herself. They will form
religious identities, most adopting the faith of those in their culture or of their parents. A political
identity is formed when they choose whether or not to be interested in politics, while vocational
identity occurs as they imagine which careers would be suitable to them. Lastly, gender identity
is defining ones self as either male or female. This is formed by engaging in actions that are
deemed appropriate for a specific gender. Adolescents will sometimes bicker, or continuously
argue, with their parents. This is caused by the adolescents belief in being independent, which
does not agree with a parents controlling aura. Delinquency is another issue, as adolescents
become more independent. A life-course-persistent offender will commit crimes prior to
becoming an adolescent and will continue to do so over the course of their life. Adolescencelimited offender engages in criminal activity until they are twenty-one years old. How can
society prevent adolescence-limited offenders from becoming life-course-persistent
offenders? Perhaps there is a way to educate them while they are adolescents, before they

become adults. Adolescents will not benefit in the long-run, from a life of crime (Berger,
2011, 295-461).

References
Berger, K. (2011). Prenatal Development and Birth. In The Developing Person Through the Life
Span (8th ed., pp. 295-461). New York, New York: Worth.